By Jesse Froehling

August 07, 2007 -- When Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano signed a bill recently that will force first-time DUI offenders to install an interlock device on their cars, the attention brushed over several other laws that could affect state drivers just as harshly.

Judge Russell Dillow of the Nogales Municipal Court said that each year, the state Legislature passes a handful of new laws influencing the residents who step into his courtroom. This year there are 28 new laws. Eight of these new laws affect drivers. The laws go into effect Sept. 19.

Odds are ...

It is probably rare to find a driver who has been behind the wheel for a sufficient length of time who has not crashed into something at some point. The target does not necessarily have to be another car. There are mailboxes, guardrails, fences and a host of other stationary objects that could get in the way of a driver and point B.

Now, if a driver leaves the scene of a damage-only accident - no injuries - it is a Class 2 misdemeanor punishable by up to four months in jail, $750 in fines and two years probation.

Another noteworthy change is a law forcing officers to seize or immobilize a vehicle where the driver's license is suspended. This applies to drivers who don't have a license as well. It also applies to drivers who have been slapped with a DUI and are forced to install an interlock, the device that requires a driver to blow into an alcohol-sensor before the car will start. If they are pulled over without the required interlock, the officer must seize or immobilize the car.

Judge Dillow said that the logistics of seizing or immobilizing a vehicle have not quite been tied up yet.

"Does the officer just take the keys? Or does he slap a boot on or take off all the wheels? How do you define 'immobilize?" he said. The law states that the department can keep the car for 30 days although the driver has the right to access it. Dillow said that if a person shows up with a license before the 30 days are over, he'll return the car.

Despite these tightened regulations, minor moving violations such as speeding tickets will become easier to deal with. Currently, if an officer in Flagstaff gives a Santa Cruz County resident a speeding ticket, the resident will have to return to Flagstaff to attend traffic school. After the law goes into effect, violators will be able to take the class anywhere in the state.

DUIs, however, will not get any easier. Those convicted of extreme DUI - driving with a blood alcohol content of .15 to .19, no longer can plead to a sympathetic judge. The judge must sentence a first-time offender to 30 days in jail. If that's not enough, the judge may order the offender to wear an alcohol bracelet or submit to twice daily alcohol testing for 30 days, all on the offender's dime.

Those who blow more than .20 or are cited a second time for a blood alcohol content between .15 and .19 must serve 45 days in jail, pay a fine of not less than $500 and use an interlock device for 18 months. If it's not your first time blowing over .20, the jail sentence quadruples - 90 days of which are mandatory - the fine doubles and the interlock stays on the car for two years.

Although Dillow said the new laws can seem a bit "draconian," he pointed out that there's a very easy way to steer clear of them.

"Just don't drink and drive," he said.

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